DECATUR, Ala. - Popping a jig off main-lake banks was the key pattern for Frank Ippoliti of Smithsburg, Md., who drove home a win in the Bassmaster Southern Open season-ender on Alabama's Wheeler Lake on Saturday with 38 pounds, 1 ounce, leading Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C., by 1 pound, 3 ounces.
Owner of a car dealership, Ippoliti moved into first place on the second day, then hung on for his first BASS win and the prize of $6,000 in cash and a Triton/Mercury boat package valued at $50,000.
Tight-lipped during the competition about his productive pattern, Ippoliti revealed afterward that he worked ledges on banks with a green-pumpkin jig rigged with a 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight and Zoom twin-tailed grub. Popping the jig off the ledges in areas that had moving shad produced limits for him all three days, besting a tight field that had a top-10 spread of only 7 pounds.
"After the second day of practice, I kept second-guessing myself because I was catching fish everywhere," said Ippoliti. "But the ledge was the only place I got quality fish, so I bent the hook on my jig and made one pass and I had 11 bites on one pass on that bluff. That's where I stayed."
Ken Chapman, 44, of Woodlawn, Tenn., a retired master sergeant who entered Bassmaster Opens for the first time this year, was third with 35 pounds, 7 ounces. Fourth and fifth were pros from Lakeland, Fla.: 33-year-old Bobby Lane with 34-13 and 19-year-old Kyle Fox with 33-10.
Besides scoring second place at the Wheeler event, Auten, 41, became a three-time Classic qualifier on Saturday when he finished second in the season-long Southern Open points race.
Auten had three limits from Wheeler that came on a Rad Lures' Chatterbait tipped with a pearl Zoom Superfluke, mainly working rocky points where shad were blowing up onto the banks anywhere from midlake to the lower end.
"The first two days with the winds, I stayed with the points, but today I had to change to fishing boat docks when it got slick and calm and bright for most of my better fish," said Auten.
Several Bassmaster Elite Series pros competed in the Southern Open's season finale: Tim Horton of Muscle Shoals, Ala., who placed seventh with 32-10; Russ Lane of Prattville, Ala., 10th with 31-0; Gerald Swindle of Warrior, Ala., 11th with 30-7; and Charlie Hartley of Grove City, Ohio, who scored 13th place with 29-5.
Hartley won the Southern Open points race and qualified for the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, his first.
In the co-angler division, Lee Hannah of Grandville, Mass., won the first prize of $2,000 cash and a Triton/Mercury boat rig valued at $32,000. He started strong in third place on Day 1, then moved into the top spot the second day, where he easily stayed for the win with 28 pounds, 12 ounces.
Frank Jones of Land O Lakes, Fla., finished second with 26-11, recovering nicely from a first-day showing of 90th place. Eric D. Johnson of Millis, Mass., was third with 25-14.
BASSMASTER OPEN SOUTHERN OPEN- WHEELER LAKE Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$1. Frank Ippoliti Mercersburg, MD 15 38-01 310 $56,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 5 14-05 Day 3: 5 08-11 2. Todd Auten Lake Wylie, SC 15 36-14 295 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 5 13-08 Day 3: 5 10-03 3. Kenneth Chapman Woodlawn, TN 14 35-07 290 $12,000.00 Day 1: 5 14-08 Day 2: 5 13-07 Day 3: 4 07-08 4. Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 14 34-13 290 $11,000.00 Day 1: 5 19-15 Day 2: 4 04-15 Day 3: 5 09-15 5. Kyle A. Fox Lakeland, FL 15 33-10 280 $9,000.00 Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 5 08-06 Day 3: 5 12-11 6. Terry Segraves Kissimmee, FL 15 32-11 276 $8,000.00 Day 1: 5 12-07 Day 2: 5 12-02 Day 3: 5 08-02 7. Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 15 32-10 272 $7,000.00 Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 09-00 Day 3: 5 07-00 8. Sean Hoernke Magnolia, TX 15 32-08 268 $6,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-03 Day 2: 5 11-06 Day 3: 5 09-15 9. Bob Morin Seymour, TN 15 32-07 264 $6,000.00 Day 1: 5 09-08 Day 2: 5 12-01 Day 3: 5 10-14 10. Russ Lane Prattville, AL 15 31-00 260 $4,000.00 Day 1: 5 14-08 Day 2: 5 07-05 Day 3: 5 09-03 11. Gerald Swindle Warrior, AL 15 30-07 257 $3,500.00 Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 5 10-01 Day 3: 5 05-04 12. Art Ferguson III Saint Clair Shores, MI 15 29-13 254 $3,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-10 Day 2: 5 08-11 Day 3: 5 09-08 13. Charlie Hartley Grove City, OH 15 29-05 251 $2,500.00 Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 5 09-11 Day 3: 5 07-13 14. Patrick Pierce Saint John, FL 15 29-04 248 $2,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-12 Day 2: 5 09-00 Day 3: 5 08-08 15. Robert Griswold Angier, NC 15 29-03 245 $1,750.00 Day 1: 5 10-06 Day 2: 5 10-13 Day 3: 5 08-00 16. Brannon Jones Montgomery, AL 14 28-12 243 $1,500.00 Day 1: 5 09-06 Day 2: 5 11-03 Day 3: 4 08-03 17. Jimmy Mason Rogersville, AL 15 28-02 241 $1,500.00 Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 5 08-04 Day 3: 5 07-04 18. Ron Klys Gainesville, FL 13 27-08 239 $2,500.00 Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 3 04-03 Day 3: 5 08-08 19. Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 15 27-04 237 $1,500.00 Day 1: 5 08-09 Day 2: 5 09-13 Day 3: 5 08-14 20. Kenneth Chambers Vinemont, AL 15 27-01 235 $1,500.00 Day 1: 5 08-04 Day 2: 5 09-15 Day 3: 5 08-14 21. Richard Smith Cecilia, VA 15 26-08 233 $1,200.00 Day 1: 5 08-08 Day 2: 5 10-00 Day 3: 5 08-00 22. John Chaffo Murrysville, PA 14 26-05 231 $1,200.00 Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 4 05-03 Day 3: 5 06-14 23. Greg Vinson Wetumpka, AL 15 26-02 229 $1,200.00 Day 1: 5 10-06 Day 2: 5 07-08 Day 3: 5 08-04 24. Marty Stone Fayetteville, NC 15 25-15 227 $1,200.00 Day 1: 5 09-15 Day 2: 5 11-04 Day 3: 5 04-12 25. Preston Henson Vacaville, CA 13 25-13 225 $1,200.00 Day 1: 5 12-01 Day 2: 3 06-12 Day 3: 5 07-00 26. David Kilgore Jasper, AL 15 25-11 223 $1,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-03 Day 2: 5 07-10 Day 3: 5 06-14 27. Sam Greer London, KY 15 24-13 221 $1,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 06-14 Day 3: 5 06-14 28. Joseph Kastner Leesville, SC 15 24-01 219 $1,000.00 Day 1: 5 10-05 Day 2: 5 08-06 Day 3: 5 05-06 29. Daniel Moody Rogersville, AL 10 21-01 217 $1,000.00 Day 1: 4 10-05 Day 2: 5 08-12 Day 3: 1 02-00 30. Mark Hicks Millfield, OH 11 20-04 215 $1,000.00 Day 1: 5 10-05 Day 2: 5 07-12 Day 3: 1 02-03 -----------------------------------------------------------------------Purolator Big Bass Day 1 Ron Klys Gainesville, FL 05-13 $1,000.00 2 Bob Morin Seymour, TN 07-11 $1,000.00 3 Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 04-11 $1,000.00 Bob Morin Seymour, TN 07-11 $0.00-----------------------------------------------------------------------TotalsDay #Limits #Fish Weight 1 121 707 1190-03 2 88 588 908-12 3 26 140 233-01---------------------------------- 235 1435 2332-002007 Decatur, AL 10/18-10/20Lake Wheeler, Decatur AL.(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 3 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$1. Lee Hannah Grandville, MA 14 28-12 310 $34,000.00 Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 11-12 Day 3: 4 06-07 2. Frank Jones Land O Lakes, FL 14 26-11 295 $5,000.00 Day 1: 4 04-08 Day 2: 5 09-07 Day 3: 5 12-12 3. Eric D. Johnson Millis, MA 15 25-14 290 $4,000.00 Day 1: 5 07-10 Day 2: 5 10-04 Day 3: 5 08-00 4. Dow Cox Jonesborough, TN 15 24-01 285 $3,000.00 Day 1: 5 08-04 Day 2: 5 08-05 Day 3: 5 07-08 5. Fred Hood Monroe, GA 15 22-06 280 $2,500.00 Day 1: 5 11-06 Day 2: 5 05-09 Day 3: 5 05-07 6. Jason Law Albany, GA 15 22-05 276 $2,250.00 Day 1: 5 07-04 Day 2: 5 07-09 Day 3: 5 07-08 7. Dan Morrow Eastanollee, GA 15 22-04 272 $2,000.00 Day 1: 5 06-10 Day 2: 5 07-07 Day 3: 5 08-03 8. Scott Reed Cary, NC 13 21-14 273 $1,750.00 Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 5 06-14 Day 3: 3 02-14 9. John White Armuchee, GA 15 21-13 264 $1,500.00 Day 1: 5 04-15 Day 2: 5 07-13 Day 3: 5 09-01 10. Daren Mcdermott Saint Cloud, FL 12 20-15 260 $1,550.00 Day 1: 5 10-00 Day 2: 3 03-09 Day 3: 4 07-06 11. Gary Johns Piqua, OH 14 20-02 257 $1,000.00 Day 1: 5 09-04 Day 2: 5 06-07 Day 3: 4 04-07 12. Frank Woodruff Fruitland Park, FL 14 19-11 254 $900.00 Day 1: 5 06-15 Day 2: 4 06-00 Day 3: 5 06-12 13. Jim McDevitt Eldon, MO 14 19-10 251 $800.00 Day 1: 5 06-01 Day 2: 5 07-13 Day 3: 4 05-12 14. Jeff Sullivan Frostproof, FL 15 19-03 248 $700.00 Day 1: 5 05-15 Day 2: 5 07-00 Day 3: 5 06-04 15. Ronald Wiggins East Palatka, FL 13 19-02 245 $650.00 Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 07-00 Day 3: 3 05-05 16. James Sharp Leesburg, GA 15 18-14 243 $600.00 Day 1: 5 05-11 Day 2: 5 06-12 Day 3: 5 06-07 17. David Parks Decatur, AL 15 18-12 241 $600.00 Day 1: 5 05-02 Day 2: 5 08-00 Day 3: 5 05-10 18. Brian Marino Nokomis, NJ 12 18-10 239 $600.00 Day 1: 4 09-05 Day 2: 4 04-06 Day 3: 4 04-15 19. Alonzo Evans BARTOW, FL 13 18-01 237 $600.00 Day 1: 4 05-06 Day 2: 5 07-15 Day 3: 4 04-12 20. Andy Cobb Oxford, AL 11 17-10 235 $600.00 Day 1: 5 06-11 Day 2: 5 10-02 Day 3: 1 00-13 21. Lee Davis Fitzgerald, GA 12 17-03 233 $500.00 Day 1: 5 08-10 Day 2: 5 05-07 Day 3: 2 03-02 22. David Eden Adams, TN 12 17-02 231 $500.00 Day 1: 5 10-02 Day 2: 5 05-04 Day 3: 2 01-12 23. Ryan Scott Beaver Dam, KY 14 17-01 229 $500.00 Day 1: 5 07-07 Day 2: 5 05-09 Day 3: 4 04-01 24. Horace Hubbard Albany, GA 12 16-11 227 $500.00 Day 1: 5 09-00 Day 2: 4 04-00 Day 3: 3 03-11 25. Jonathan Barnette Jasper, AL 8 16-00 225 $500.00 Day 1: 4 07-07 Day 2: 2 04-13 Day 3: 2 03-12 26. Allen Rix Creal Springs, IL 11 15-09 223 $400.00 Day 1: 5 07-08 Day 2: 5 06-08 Day 3: 1 01-09 27. Jimmy Dudley White, GA 10 14-15 221 $400.00 Day 1: 3 03-14 Day 2: 5 09-09 Day 3: 2 01-08 28. John Moon Brookeland, TX 8 14-12 219 $400.00 Day 1: 5 09-12 Day 2: 2 02-14 Day 3: 1 02-02 29. Barry Pavia Fruitland Park, FL 7 13-09 217 $700.00 Day 1: 5 08-05 Day 2: 1 04-05 Day 3: 1 00-15 30. Robert Green Sedalia, NC 9 12-04 215 $400.00 Day 1: 4 04-07 Day 2: 5 07-13 Day 3: 0 00-00 -----------------------------------------------------------------------Purolator Big Bass Day 1 Lee Clark Decatur, AL 04-13 $300.00 2 Barry Pavia Fruitland Park, FL 04-05 $300.00 3 Daren Mcdermott Saint Cloud, FL 03-14 $300.00 Bob Morin Seymour, TN 07-11 $0.00-----------------------------------------------------------------------TotalsDay #Limits #Fish Weight 1 62 536 745-03 2 48 425 567-07 3 11 104 148-11---------------------------------- 121 1065 1461-05